1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to conveyor systems and, more particularly, to an improved conveying apparatus and an electronic module that automatically controls the conveyor in response to certain preselected or preset conditions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As known in the art, conveying systems of the type which comprise, for example, an endless belt adapted to convey an object from one point to another, often run continually irrespective of the frequency of the supply of the objects to be carried or even when t here is no object on the conveyor itself. Such a practice, although somewhat common, involves a substantial waste of electrical energy. In recent years, various proposals have been made to provide electrical control systems for escalators, conveyors and similar apparatus whereby the conveyors are controlled such that they stop and start automatically in response to an object being placed on or removed from the system. A specific example of such a prior known technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,985,563. While such proposals have been made, in general, no known conveying system has proved to be entirely satisfactory relative to the conversation of electrical energy for industrial multibelt conveying systems. The present invention overcomes this deficiency of the prior art.